If you are beginning a subject, do not start with the most complete book, but take a more elementary one.Remember that elementary knowledge is not the same thing as superficial knowledge, but may be quite the reverse.

在开始学习某一个科目的时候，建议不要从大而全的书籍入手，而是从比较基础的书籍入手。记住，表面知识通常都是基础知识，然而基础知识并不一定就是表面知识。

The point is, that you should not dissipate your powers by taking up too many subjects, looking into them cursorily, then dropping them and passing on to something else.

不要一开始就想着要完成太多的科目，轻率的跳进去然后又放弃，转向另一个科目后又反复前一个过程，从而浪费有限的时间和精力。

Remember that here, as elsewhere, "the more haste the less speed." You may think that you have not time to think about your studies. The fact is, that you have not time not to think about them, and that in the end you can do more in less time if you will insist upon taking pains.

有句话说的好，“欲速则不达”。有时候你会认为没有多余的学习时间去回顾已经学到的知识。然而，从没有“不能用来思考所学知识”的学习时间，思考和消化知识的过程本身就是一种学习。如果你能坚持努力，最终你会发现你其实花了更少的时间获得了更多的知识。

It is not necessary to read every word in the book. Sometimes paragraphs, pages and perhaps chapters may be skipped. This, however, should not lead you into the habit of careless or superficial reading.

不是每本书都需要你逐字逐句仔细阅读的。有时候，一些段落、书页或章节都是可以略过的。当然，并不是鼓励你都进行粗读或泛读，只是希望你培养对可略过内容的判断能力，以便更高效的学习。

Cultivate the power, by habitual practice, of fixing your mind intensely upon one thing for a considerable time.It has been said that the difference between clever and ordinary men is often mainly a difference in the power of directing and controlling the mind through the attention.

通过日常训练，培养你持续专注于某一件事情的集中力。 据说，普通人和聪明人的最大区别就是在关注某件事物时所发挥出的集中力：指挥并控制你的精神力。

Study from things, by experiment, in the field, rather than entirely by books. In this way, what you learn will be real to you. Book knowledge is of very little value in itself.

所学的知识，要进行运用。不要留于纸上的文字，要通过实验，在现场，亲身体验。这样，你学到的知识才能真正成为你自己的。不然书上所学的知识本身是没有多大价值的。

As Herbert Spencer says, it is much better to know a few books thoroughly than to know many superficially.

就像英国的社会学家Herbert Spencer说的那样，“与其泛泛地阅读大量书籍，不如将少量书籍读深读透。”

Summarize what you learn and construct an index. Learn where to go to find what you do not know. You cannot learn everything even about one subject, and the next best thing to knowing it is to know where to find it or how to work it out yourself.

读了书，或看了资料后，要总结你从中所得的知识或信息，并整理成一份目录。这样当你需要复习曾经所学的内容时就可以知道去哪本书或资料里找。一个人不可能把所有的内容都记在脑子里，所以最好的方法就是培养这种习惯，就可以轻松的知道可以去哪里以及怎样找到需要的知识。

A healthy body is necessary for the fullest cultivation of the mental powers, but on the other hand, the mind will not work when the body is exhausted.Moreover, see that your studies are done under proper conditions of air, light, sun; that you have a comfortable chair, but not one which leads to somnolence.

健康的体魄才是百分之百调动精神力的源泉。换句话说，当身体进入疲劳期，大脑也会随之罢工。可以观察一下你自己在怎样的环境中能保持最佳的学习状态，并营造那种环境，比如新鲜的空气、充足的光线、温暖的阳光、舒适但不会让你打瞌睡的椅子。